Mozart's Requiem

I love Mozart so much.  And there is no single piece of music I love more than his Requiem.  I grew up watching Amadeus with my family at least once a year--Dad said we could watch it on the last day of school because he knew there was no chance we could be depressed by it on our happiest day.  I did not realize that the notes and lines of Requiem were being woven into the fabric of my soul at that early age, but when I sang the Requiem in college it felt just like coming home.  (Does "fabric of my soul" seem a little much? Sorry, I get really excited.)

Norm Lister, who leads our community choir, said tonight that, at the age of 67, this year was his first opportunity of singing the entire Requiem.  Lucky me!  It was my second opportunity!  And it has been so glorious.  We performed last Saturday in the Cox (where I sang it the first time, fifteen years ago) in conjunction with the Dixie College Choirs and Orchestra.  It was truly a joyous day for me.

But the best part about all of this is that for the past five weeks, I've had Mozart continually running through my head.  You see, I bought the CD in college and listened to it ad infinitam until I fairly had it memorized.  I still can sing long passages from memory, and the solo passages play like heavenly music in my mind.  It has been a joy to be so pleasantly haunted by one of the greatest minds this world has ever known.